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A Chattanooga Police Department officer faces a charge of domestic assault after he reportedly strangled his wife during an argument Sunday, according to a Chattanooga police arrest report.

Officer Brian C. Smith, who has worked at the department since 2000, was released on his own recognizance shortly after he was booked at the Hamilton County Jail on Thursday afternoon.

The department began an internal affairs investigation and placed Smith on leave pending its completion, according to a news release. Police Chief Bobby Dodd declined to comment because the case is pending.

Smith, 44, began arguing with his wife at their Hixson home over his son's attending a birthday party, according to the police report. The child was out of the room during the assault, the report states.

Ginny Smith, 39, told an investigator that her husband came over to where she was sitting, grabbed her around the neck and began strangling her. He then reportedly pushed her back while saying, "If I am going down, it will be for something good. I might as well kill you."

She also said he drew his fist back as if he was going to hit her, and then pushed his fist against her face.

Smith's story was different. He said he made a fist and cocked it back. He told her, "I should knock your block off." He said he didn't hit her, but instead told her to get out of the room.

Afterward an angry Ginny Smith cut up family pictures and stabbed two Pittsburgh Steelers footballs that belonged to him, the report states. She faces a charge of vandalism, the report states.

Smith is scheduled to appear Tuesday before Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Christine Sell.